Copycat

I often eat tasty things when I'm out and about and think, "I bet I could make that" or "I wonder what their recipe is."  Luckily, that's where the internet comes in handy - the source of everything!  Of course sombody had already attempted a copy-cat recipe of a soup I enjoyed at Whole Foods recently. Here's an inexpensive and hearty, fresh twist on traditional chicken soup.

Lemon Chicken Artichoke Soup


2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Zest of one lemon
1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped
 3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
Juice of one lemon
2 cups kale, finely chopped
1 can marinated artichoke hearts,chopped and drained.
3 teaspoons herbes de Provence
1 shake red pepper flakes (optional spice)
4 cups reduced sodium, gluten-free chicken broth
1 cup water
2 tablespoons tapioca or potato

Directions:

1.  In a medium pot, boil chicken breasts in water about 15 minutes until tender and mostly cooked.  Remove chicken and shred or chop forks.  Season chicken with pepper, and lemon zest.  Set aside. 
2. Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot. Heat to medium-high. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic to the hot oil and saute for 3-5 minutes until veggies have begun to soften. Add herbs and stir to release the fragrances.
3. Add chicken broth, lemon juice, and artichoke hearts to veggies in pot. Cover and bring to a boil. 
4. Add shredded chicken to pot, return to boil. 
5. Add water as needed to thin to desired consistency 
6. Create a roux using tapioca or potato startch and some warm water.  Stir into soup slowly to thicken to desired consistency. 
7. Simmer soup, covered, for 30+ minutes and test flavor.  Adjust as necessary.

Inspired by Whole Foods, 
adapted from http://anickelsworthofnews.blogspot.com/2014/02/lemon-chicken-artichoke-soup.html?m=1

~thanks for looking through my kitchen window~ 

Mmmm....Pumpkin Lattes

I'm not one of those crazy pumpkin people.  You know who they are, the people that count-down to Starbucks' annual release of the coveted pumpkin pie lattes each year.  The people that pay a little more for everything pumpkin flavored because I mean really, who could turn down trader joes O's - pumpkin flavored of course.  Since when did everything from Sept - Dec need to be pumpkin flavored? No, I'm not one of those crazies but I'm fascinated by them.

I've never actually had a Starbucks' pumpkin latte, but I heart they're tasty.  I also hear they're full of "natural and artificial flavorings" and there's really nothing pumpkin related within the syrup bottle.   I wondered what a true pumpkin spice latte would taste like.  After trying one at a local coffee shop which offered homemade pumpkin syrup, I figured it couldn't be that hard to make my own.

Oh, it wasn't hard at all.  And super delicious.
Lucky for my co-workers, it's now DIY pumpkin lattes at work because this recipe makes a full bottle of sauce.

Pumpkin Pie Latte Syrup

• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally to keep syrup from burning.
2. Let mixture cook together until it becomes syrup-y and begins to coat the spoon (for about 10-15 minutes), then remove from heat.
3. Refrigerate in a heat-proof container. The syrup will thicken a bit in the refrigerator, but will become syrup-y again when heated.
4. To make into a coffee drink, you can add equal parts of this syrup to dairy of your choice in the bottom of a mug and then add hot/cold coffee for enjoyment.

 Recipe from: http://domesticatedacademic.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/homemade-pumpkin-spice-latte-syrup/


~thanks for looking through my kitchen window~

Island Flavor

Back in June I was lucky enough to take a relaxing vacation with my sister Mary to the island of Jamaica.  We stayed at a wonderful eco-friendly retreat up in the mountains of Jamaica away from the touristy beaches.  Not only is Zimbali Retreats situated on a 7 1/2 acre organic farm but they have two chefs which prepare all the meals fresh with most ingredients straight from the farm.
Needless to say, the two foodie McKee girls took notes on the delicious cuisine thorughout the entirety of our trip.


Months later, back in the states, I was inspired by a Jamaican meal I enjoyed.  Because our chefs were a bit loose with their idea of recipes I followed a recipe found via Pinterest and adapted with my general knowledge of cooking and tips from the Zimbali chefs.

Here is Brown Stew Chicken with Rice and Peas:

Brown Stew Chicken
2-3 LBS Chicken.  I used bone-in thighs. 
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 onion, diced
3 stalks of green onion
1 habanero pepper, chopped very small
1/2 green pepper and 1/2 red pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 inch of ginger, grated
3 tomatoes, diced
2-3 Tbsps oil (vegetable or olive oil)
3 tablespoons of flour, stirred in to 1/2 cup of water
3 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 3 teaspoons of dried thyme)
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of browning sauce (Kitchen Bouquet)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 cups of water

Directions

• Slice and cice all the veggies.   Add all of the diced and chopped and grated veggies to a big bowl - onion, green onion, habanero, green and red pepper, thyme, garlic, tomatoes and ginger.
• Place raw chicken pieces into veggie mixture. Let chicken marinate for 1 hour to 5 hours in this mixture. 
• One you're done marinating, remove chiken from veggies - do NOT discard.  Brush veggies off chicken.  
• Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the chicken and fry for about 5 minutes or until the outside is slightly browned and the chicken is sealed.
• Remove the chicken from the pot and drain off the oil. Heat the pot (med-med high) and add the butter. Add in the veggies from the marinating. Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the tomatoes break down.
• Add the soy sauce, the browning and the water. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
• Make the roux from the flour and water. Stir to get all clumps out.  
• Add this flour slurry to the pot, stirring briskly. This is going to thicken up the mixture to a rich, deep gravy. 
• Add the chicken back in and stew for at least 30 minutes.
  
  
  Rice and Peas 
  
  In Jamaica, peas are really beans.
  I combined these ingredients into my rice cooker and cooked according to cooker's directions.   I always use long grain white rice and rinse rice under running cold water until water runs clear.
  
  1 can of red kidney beans - rinsed
  3/4 cup canned coconut milk
  3/4 cup water
  2 cups of rice
  2 stalks of green onion
  1 clove garlic, smashed
  2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  1 Tbsp oil (vegetable or olive)
  1 habanero pepper (whole, do not chop up)
  
  

Adapted from: http://acoopedupchick.com/march-2011/jamaican-brown-stew-chicken/

~thanks for looking through my kitchen window~

Breakfast with a bang!

Several weeks ago I was looking to make something different for breakfast.  I wanted eggs in a different manner than my standard hard-boiled or scrambled.  I also had a ton of fresh veggies to use from my mom's garden. It'd been a while since I had a quiche so I took a stab at altering a quiche recipe to meet my foodie needs.
Here's the result:

Recipe adapted from cookieandcate.com

Ingredients

Gluten-free almond meal crust

• 2 cups almond meal/flour
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon water

Filling:

• 3 cups roughly chopped fresh veggies.  I used onions, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini
• Drizzle olive oil
• 6 large eggs
• ⅓ cup alternative milk of choice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet or large tart pan with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, stir together the almond meal, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in the olive oil and water and stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
2. Press the dough into your prepared skillet/pan until it is evenly dispersed across the bottom and up the sides (if you are using a cast iron skillet, make sure the dough goes at least 1¼ inch up the sides). Bake until the crust is lightly golden and firm to the touch, about 18 to 20 minutes.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. Cook the mushrooms with a dash of salt, stirring often, until tender. Toss in the arugula and let it wilt, while stirring, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a plate to cool.
4. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and red pepper. Stir in the goat cheese and the slightly cooled mushroom and arugula mixture.
5. Once the crust is done baking, pour in the egg mixture and bake for 30 minutes, or until the center is firm to the touch and cooked through. Let the quiche cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife. Serve immediately.

I'm in it to WIN it

Some of you may remember Dad and my entry to the Bob's Red Mill Spar for the Spurtle cooking Contest in summer 2013.  If not, you can see our music viceo entry here http://youtu.be/nwAURhl95QE which got an honorable mention, a trip to Portland,OR but alas no grand prize.

This year the recipe contest has changed a bit, but my interest in winning has not.  Instead of offering a trip to Ireland as the grand prize, Bob has $5000 on the line. No video needed this year, just a good 'ol recipe and commitment to entering via their facebook page.  (benefit: this weeds out the non-FB savvy cooks giving a smaller pool of entries I anticipate)

As always, the winning recipe must include Bob's Red Mill, Steel Cut Oats. 
Here's my original recipe for the contest which I've entered.  Should you be inspired to enter or want to measure how my Coconut Curry Bowl stacks up against other entries you can visit the Bob's facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/BobsRedMillNaturalFoods.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Coconut Curry Bowl

This 30 minute one-pot meal is not only packed with protein and greens, it’s bursting with flavor.  Vegan and gluten free, your family and friends will come back asking for more!

Ingredients:

½ onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon cooking oil of choice

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats

16 oz low-sodium vegetable broth

½  can (15.5 oz) coconut milk

1 can (15.5 oz) garbanzo beans

1 can (15.5 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes          

1 ½ tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon garam masala powder (optional)

1 ½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional for added spice)

4 cups roughly chopped, deveined kale

1 tablespoon lime juice

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Before beginning chop ingredients and measure spices.  Drain and rinse garbanzo beans. 

In a Dutch oven or large high-sided skillet, sauté onion and garlic in oil over medium heat for 2-3  minutes until soft.  Into the pot or skillet add the Bob’s Red Mill Steel-Cut oats, canned tomatoes with their juices, broth, and spices.  Stir to combine then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and add the coconut milk, stirring to combine.  Cover and simmer the mixture about 18 minutes.  Stir in the chickpeas and kale and allow to cook another 3-5 minutes, until the kale is wilted and bright green.  Mixture will thicken as oats cook; if needed add additional broth or water to thin.  Remove from heat; stir in the lime and cilantro and serve.

Serves 4-6. ©E.McKee, 2014.

 

Missing Mac

It's been nearly 3 years since I had a cheesy, gooey, bowl of good old homemade macaroni and cheese.  My Dad makes the best mac and cheese with a really sharp cheddar cheese - cougar gold from WSU (so if you're eating dairy...do it that way). 

Though I've stayed away from cow's dairy products I've found I can tolerate goat and sheep products easier. Scientifically speaking, goats milk is more easily digestable and less allergenic. 

Anyway....it was time to attempt gluten-free goat milk macaroni and cheese.   Most of the recipes I found only used goat cheese as an accent so it was a struggle to find one with purely goat dairy products.

Here's the recipe:

 Ingredients:

• 1 package (9 oz) GF pasta of your choice
• ~1.5 tablespoons Earth Balance butter alternative
• ~1.5 tablespoons potato starch
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp each: salt, ground pepper, nutmeg, garlic powder, cayenne
• 2 cups of goat milk (whole or low fat)
• 8 oz of firm goat cheese(s) of your choice, grated - I recommend a blend of various. 
• 1/4 bunch of fresh parsley leaves chopped fine
•  
• Topping: 1 cup GF breadcrumbs + 2 tablespoons softened earth balance + 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper,

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F
Prepare and chop all ingredients prior to beginning assembly.  For topping, combine ingredients in using forks until resembling texture of coarse wet send.

Melt earth balance and potato starch in a large saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly with a whisk. Add onions, continue whisking. Once the onions have become transparent and roux is barely golden in color, remove from heat.

At this time, being a large pot of water boiling for the pasta. Boil the pasta shy of time instructed on package -until al dente. Drain pasta and rinse briefly with cold water.

Heat up the goat milk in the microwave for 2 minutes. Turn the roux back to the lowest heat. Slowly pour in the heated goat milk while constantly whisking. Once incorporated, increase the heat to low-medium. The sauce will thicken up and come to a slight boil after a couple of minutes. Don't forget to stir constantly for no clumps. Turn the heat down again to low and add in all the goat cheese(s) at once. It will take a few minute for it to incorporate with stirring. Then add in the chopped parsley. Add spices, taste, and adjust seasonings as needed.

To the cheese sauce add in the cooked pasta.  Gently fold the fold the pasta and sauce together until evenly distributed. If sauce is too thick, loosen with a bit of hot water. Mixture should be quite saucy. Pour mixture into an oven safe baking dish.  Sprinkle mac & cheese with topping.

Cook uncovered in a 375F oven for 20 minutes or until the topping is a golden brown and cheese is bubbling around edges.  If necessary broil for a few minutes while closely watching.


Adapted from:  http://thesensitiveepicure.blogspot.com/2013/03/individual-goat-cheese-mac-cheese.html?m=1

The finished produced satisfied my craving.  It was super rich and wasn't as ooey gooey and traditional mac and cheese but still tasty.  I would highly recommend a blend of hard goat cheeses if possible so as to make a more complex flavored dish.

Such a foodie!

Okay, March has been busy.....and by busy I mean I've been a crazy foodie.  For some reason I gravitate towards the kitchen after a stressful day, whenever I have downtime, or when I see a new recipe and can't wait to try it.  I also love all things culinary in the community such as grocery shopping, food fairs/events, and of course dining out. 

This past weekend I went overboard.  For starters I volunteered 5 hours at Seattle's VegFest, a vegetarian festival.  As an undercover carnivore I was able to maintain my cool and sample a variety of delicious products while collecting many freebies and coupons along the way.  At home I made stir-fry for dinner, homemade cultured almond milk yogurt in the crock pot (recipe to follow), cauliflower Alfredo sauce & pasta (recipe to follow), and my weekly homemade Kombucha. I also took time to puree a batch of kale & spinach with fresh pineapple which I froze into ice cube to throw into my morning green smoothies! (can you say, time saver!)  Whew.  As my wise sister Mary exclaimed upon hearing my weekend activities, "Dang girl, you needa calm down!"  She's right. 

Despite my well stocked shelves of cookbooks many of the recipes from this weekend's cooking session hailed from the world of pinterest.  Links are as follows:

Non-dairy cultured yogurt - in the crock pot!
http://andloveittoo.com/unsweetened-vegan-coconut-milk-crockpot-yogurt/ 
I used unsweetened almond milk, threw in a splash of pure vanilla extract, and also stirred chia seeds in towards the end.  The consistency didn't end up being as thick as traditional yogurt; mine turned out more of kiefer thickness which is fine by me.

Creamy Cauliflower "Alfredo" Sauce
http://pinchofyum.com/creamy-cauliflower-sauce
Don't knock it 'til you try it.  This stuff is da bomb, as the author notes.  I'm serious, minus a slight chunkier texture, this sauce tastes like the real deal.  How can that be seeing as how the ingredients are non-dairy, vegan, low-fat, and basically sound gross.  Just do it.  It's yummers.  I followed the recipe straight through but chose chicken stock as that's all I had.  I also topped my pasta and sauce with a tad of aged grated goat's milk parmasean.

Homemade Kombucha - fermented tea drink.
Recipe to be posted separately.  

~thanks for looking through my kitchen window~

Roll it!

New culinary adventures: Spring rolls. 

A friend of mind turned me on to the idea of making my own rice paper spring rolls.  As a gluten free eater it's something I pondered experimenting with earlier but I wasn't sure how to deal with the rice paper sheets.  Turns out it's easy - just dip them in lukewarm h2o and they soften right up.

The cool thing about these rice paper rolls is there are endless possibilities for fillings.  They're transportable, healthy, and allergy friendly.

Having just started with these rolls I chose to fill mine with homemade chicken salad, shredded carrots, bean sprouts, shredded cabbage, and parsley.  Because the chicken salad is creamy these rolls didn't require a dip.

I can't wait to try out more fillings as I think this is going to be my go-to packable lunch for a while!

Rainy day cooking

My go-to activity for a rainy Sunday involves cooking.  It's preferable when I have somebody else coming to help me eat the food but having no company doesn't set me back as I'm good friends with my freezer and having left-overs to last me through the week. 
Today was my first attempt at Homemade Hummus which turned out well and it's so easy with my Ninja blender that there really is no need to purchase it premade. I had some tahini I'd bought for another recipe and wanted to put it to good use. 

Hummus ingredients: garbanzo beans, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, cumin, salt. 

voilà - hummus!  

I also just had to try a new dessert recipe for a paleo Lemon Coconut Loaf which I saw in my most recent Gluten Intolerant Group magazine.  It's a simple recipe, just lightly sweetened, made from coconut and almond flour with fresh lemon juice and zest.  I made half of it into mini-muffins sized bites so I won't over-eat this cake :-)

I guess I shouldn't mention that I also made meatloaf and roasted baby potatoes for dinner tonight also.
 Thanks for looking through my kitchen window.

Broccoli Spinach Quinoa Soup

It's been COLD which makes people think S-O-U-P!  I've always said that I'm not much of a soup person but I think that's inaccurate.  In actuality I think I'm just a picky soup eater.  I don't much like brothy soups, I prefer chunkier thick soups with a stew-like texture.  This is why this soup turned out perfectly for me . And it was healthy to boot!


Here's the recipe I followed (via pinterest of course):
http://www.cookingquinoa.net/broccoli-spinach-quinoa-soup

Adjustments I made:
more spice!
I used multi-colored quinoa to make it a bit more colorful.
I only pureed half of the soup to leave it a bit more chunky.
A tad of shredded goat parmesan.  

Here's how it turned out for me:

Red Cabbage......smoothie?!

Red Cabbage.  I don't eat it often, except when mom throws it in her salads.  It doesn't bother me, but let's just say I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a red cabbage.  I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a red cabbage until today, that is.   It dawned on me that cabbage must be healthy, it had to have some amazing antioxidants or something like that.  Plus the color if phenomenal.  I figured if I can throw a few beets into a smoothie to brighten the hue without the flavor being impacted too much surely I could get some red cabbage into my morning smoothies for some extra color and nutrients.

I'm lazy so I don't like to pull out every fruit and veggie each morning to make a smoothie.  I'm usually pressed for time so I've discovered a quick way to improve my smoothie making.  I package frozen fruits and veggies into those little snack sized/100 cal zip lock baggies which is just enough for a single serving smoothie.  Okay, it's a little wasteful but I'll admit I save the baggies and reuse them.  When I make green smoothies I pre-blend my greens with some fruit juice or water and freeze the raw green juice into ice cubes.  This way I don't have to have fresh greens on hand 24/7 and it's easy to toss in the blender.

Back to the cabbage.  I decided I could blend cabbage the way I blend my greens and freeze the juice into ice cube trays for smoothies. Maybe it will even taste good.  As you'll see in the photo, I chopped up my cabbage into small sections and threw it into my Ninja blender with some water.  Before long I ended up with a blender full of chunky cabbage juice.....yum ;-)  So off to the freezer it went in an ice cube tray.

While I waited for my little cabbage cubes to freeze I had to do some research on the nutritional benefits of red cabbage.  After all, I had to ensure that my efforts were worthwhile.  Luckily the Internet proved to me that cabbage has wonderful health properties including:  two types of cancer-preventing nutrients, copious amounts of vitamin K, vitamin A, Vitamin C, and it has inflammation and bacteria fighting properties.

Fast forward to this morning when I tossed two cabbage cubes into my Ninja single-serve blender cup along with a banana, splash of juice, protein powder, and a little raw oatmeal for texture and voila! Done.  No gross cabbage taste, all the benefits, and a pretty purple color to boot.

Thanks for looking in my (virtual) kitchen window.

Welcome

In an effort to document my culinary endeavors throughout the year, I've created this blog.  Primarily it's journal for myself where I plan to document my successes and failures in the kitchen, yummy eats from the world around me, and probably mention slammin' deals on my favorite food products that there's no doubt I'll find.  It's likely the blog will be dull to most readers but it's here for me.  

Should you find the content interesting, 
you're invited to share in the excitement by looking through my virtual kitchen window.

 

Cheers.  

-Elizabeth